West Virginia National Guard members completed a month of work in Lewis and Upshur counties without a day off following the July 21 flood, according to an August 22 update from Lewis County Commissioner Agnes Quinn Queen.
Their work included removing flood debris, clearing destroyed material, and helping neighborhoods move from emergency response into cleanup. Members received Sunday off after the month-long stretch and returned Monday to continue collection throughout Lewis County.
The deployment later entered a smaller closing phase. By August 27, Queen reported that fewer Guard members remained on debris duty and warned that collection would take longer. Residents were instructed to keep ordinary household garbage separate from flood debris and to resubmit uncollected addresses while the team was still available.
Once the Guard mission ends, remaining removal becomes the property owner's responsibility. The county's archived source record keeps both the month-of-service account and the later collection instructions available for future recovery reporting.